These Are The Top Sharing-Economy Platforms Helping Australians Earn Extra Cash

June 4-11 marks Global Sharing Week, which this year has a new focus in the sharing economy. This movement represents a number of opportunities for Regular Joes to increase their yearly incomes with little effort through sharing platforms. What we often refer to as “side hustles”, these new sharing-economy startups are effectively enabling many to swing in a healthy second income.

There has been a significant rise of the share economy or ‘peer-to-peer’ in 2017, which refers to a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human, physical and intellectual resources. Think renting out your car or free spaces, or even becoming sitter for other people’s pets. Indeed, the sharing economy is being embraced by millions globally. In fact, 68 per cent of Australians use shared-economy platforms to boost their income by using their under-utilised assets and services.

This Sunday (June 4), Sydney is holding Australia’s largest sharing-economy event, aptly called the Income Booster Expo, designed to help families increase their income by more than $30,000 a year.

“The world we live in is changing rapidly and people no longer have to be tied to a 9-to-5, Monday to Friday job routine, which can be impossible to manage whilst also raising a young family,” explains Mad Paws founder and CEO Alexis Soulopoulos. “Sharing economy companies are giving people the tools to set their own work schedule that works with their family routine.”

The event will include one-to-one expert advice tailored attendees, a fair with Australia’s top sharing economy businesses, such as Spacer, Camplify, Mad Paws and Zoom2u, and stories from Australia’s top micro entrepreneurs who have made thousands of extra income a year to create their dream lifestyle. Learn more here.

Below are five Australian homegrown businesses that will feature at the event.

SpacerSpace is a pretty tough commodity to come by, especially in Australia’s busiest cities. Spacer solves this issue with a two-pronged approach, by connecting those who have spare space to those who need more of it. “There are so many idle assets sitting all around us, what better way to utilise them than by sharing them and in the process earning some extra income?” asks founder and CEO Mike Rosenbaum. “It’s good for the environment, helps your neighbours and even helps the hip pocket.”

Mad PawsOur pets are practically family and that’s where a platform like Mad Paws comes in handy. Pet owners can find an abundance of trusted pet sitters near their homes by utilising this passionate pet-sitting community.

Zoom2uAn on-demand courier marketplace, Zoom2u flips the traditional approach to courier work on its head by allowing complete flexibility for drivers to decide when and where they’ll take a particular job. “Besides financially, it gives people complete flexibility on choosing when and where they work,” explains founder and CEO Steve Orenstein. “We have had drivers who have felt like a holiday in a different state and they have had the ability to still do a few days worth of work while they are in the different location.”

Camplify
Considering the average RV owner only uses their caravan for just four to six weeks per year, renting it out during the remainder of the year to other families makes perfect financial sense. Hence, Camplify, the ‘Airbnb for caravans’ and Australia’s largest RV sharing community. But, as chief marketing officer Dave Eddy, explains, it’s not just the wallets that benefit from this exchange. “Something we have noticed about the ‘transactions’ that happen on our platform, and other sharing platforms, is that the supplier (the host, driver, or owner) is really motivated to provide fantastic experiences for their peer-to-peer customers (the guest, rider or renter). This human element is a paradigm that is tough to replicate in many traditional business models.”

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